General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joyce Oduah, has been suspended from office over allegations of disobedience to the National Executive Council of the body (NBA-NEC) and National Executive Committee.

The suspension came after an emergency meeting held yesterday with 11 national officers in attendance.

In a unanimous decision, Oduah was suspended with immediate effect, as the Assistant General Secretary was directed to hold rein until the next NBA-AGM.

NBA President, Olumide Akpata, recused himself from the section that considered Oduah’s case.

The Guardian recalled that in the past weeks, the association has been embroiled in an internal crisis. For instance, on June 26 and 27 the axed scribe and her deputy issued a notice stating that hearing and voting for the amended 2021 Constitution of the lawyers’ body would hold at the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association in Lagos.

But in a dramatic twist, Oduah, in a statement dated August 12, stated that there was no motion for the amendment of the 2015 Constitution (as amended in 2021), only to say her withdrawal of the earlier notice was on ground of non-compliance with Section 15(1) of the NBA Constitution.

She also declared the notice issued by the Assistant General Secretary as unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.

Swiftly, in another statement dated August 13, Akpata urged all and sundry to discountenance the purported withdrawal, stating the decision was not authorised by other national officers.

He reaffirmed the validity of the earlier notices by Oduah and her assistant in July 27 as subsisting.

Consequently, the NBA leadership convened an emergency meeting of national officers on Sunday and after deliberations, the meeting was adjourned to yesterday morning for reconvening.

The resolution reads in part: “In view of the critical importance of the annual general meeting, which is scheduled to hold on August 25, 2022, and to prevent the General Secretary, Mrs. Joyce Oduah, from imperiling the annual general meeting, Annual General Conference or the succession to the next administration by her unilateral and unauthorised communications purporting to be legitimate communications from the association, the National Executive Committee has unanimously exercised its emergency powers under Section 9(6) (d) of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2021) to suspend Mrs. Oduah from office as General Secretary of the association with immediate effect pending the pre-conference meeting of the NBA-NEC.

“The National Executive Committee, by a unanimous decision, resolved to refer the General Secretary, Mrs. Oduah, to NBA-NEC for disciplinary action under the provisions of Section 20(1) of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2021) and to recommend her removal from office for gross misconduct.”